Cat Tales
by CapitanConejito
Summary: Based off my dream in which I was a cat named Patria, a mascot and friend to our dear revolutionaries. Follow Patria through the events of Les Miserables, and watch hoe her presence makes all the difference in our beloved story.


_**A/N: This story is based off a dream I had recently, I lengthened it, tweaked it, and added detail so I could post it here. Enjoy. ;)**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Les Misérables. Neither the musical or the book (brick). They belong to their respective owners.**_

_**Chapter One:**_

_**Becoming Patria**_

Swish, swish, swish. Pitter, patter, pitter, patter, swish. Stomp, stomp, stomp, stomp, getting closer... pause.

My curious green eyes flutter open to gaze upon the intruder to my alleyway home. Shiny black boots invade my vision. Slowly, my eyes scan up the figure to rest upon a friendly familiar face. I rouse myself to attention to greet my recently made friend. I carefully wind around his feet, purring contentedly while staring up adoringly at my human friend, Enjolras.

"Hello there, kitty." I mewl happily in response as he lifts me to his shoulders, allowing me to have a better view of his world. I bounce along on his strong shoulders, my tail gently wrapping around his neck. I recognize the path we're on, the route to the ABC Cafe, or the Cafe Musain.

I smile to myself, if a cat can smile that is. The cafe is always warm, and comforting. Especially compared to the rainy day outside.

"Enjolras! I see you've finally made it then!" Grantaire greets us joyfully "What took you so lo- ah. So you've brought along our little mascot then! How long did it take you to find her this time?" I gracefully hop off of Enjolras and prance over to my drunken friend. I notice that despite the early hour he has a relatively empty bottle of brandy. I sit contentedly at his feet while the two men continued their conversation.

"Only an hour, I'd say that was a record." Enjolras jokes. "Ah, yes, she always does give you some trouble, doesn't she?" Seemingly to make his point Grantaire crouches down to my level and begins to scratch my ears. "Yes you do. You're a good cat, yes you are!" Grantaire adores me, constantly dotes on me, and when Enjolras or Marius wasn't looking, he slips me some of whatever he was drinking, much to Marius and Enjolras' chagrin.

Now, I usually do not tolerate 'baby talk,' but there's just something about Grantaire and his voice that sort of _makes_ me allow his babying of me.

Enjolras smiles and turns to greet the other students, and makes his way around the cafe. Noticing his leader's absence, Grantaire discreetly allows me to lap up some of his brandy, much to my pleasure. I nod to Grantaire in thanks and make my way around the tables, greeting my revolutionary friends, and occasionally receiving some coffee heavily laden with cream.

"You know..." Combeferre says whilst watching me lap up the remainder of his coffee, "Our petite, and beautiful mascot does not have a proper name. What say we give her one my friends." This proposition calls all of Les Amis d'ABC's attention to me. I, being an exceptionally intelligent cat, understand the words, and rough language that humans speak. At the thought of being given a name I stand straight to attention, my head held high, and my tail proudly swishing behind me. The students give Combeferre an appraising look, congratulate him on his idea, and they all gather around the table I am seated upon, formulating the 'perfect' name for me.

"Well... she is our mascot, her eyes are a peculiar shade of green, and she is black as night," Feuilly notes, "perhaps we should name her based on those characteristics."

"Patria!" Enjolras calls out, obviously excited about the prospect of naming me. His idea is shot down quickly by Grantaire, _"A shame,"_ I think to myself, _"Patria is a lovely sounding name and it truly does represent what they stand for, and what I stand for too, I suppose. If I were a human I would readily agree with their ideals." _So, of course, the names suggested from here on out the have nothing to do with what Feuilly so cleverly claimed.

"Madeleine!"

"Juliette!"

"Victoire!"

"Jacqueline!"

"Catherine!"

"Cécile!"

Names are called in rapid succession, their excitement, and volume overwhelms me and I crouch low to the table, flattening my ears to block out the shouts. Effervescently, Grantaire drunkenly calls out one name after another, some wonderful sounding names. Others, not so inspiring. Marius, yet again late to the meeting, notices my discomfort and quickly calls for quiet, for my sake.

I look up appreciatively at him, and he smiles at me, as if he knows my gratitude for his actions, cat ears are delicate, you know. "My friends!" Marius begins, "Why don't we let her choose?"

"Pray tell, Marius," Grantaire calls, "how are we to do that?"

"We call out names, one at a time, mind you, and whichever name she responds to, shall become her name. She is an intelligent cat, after all, I think she can decide for herself." I sit up, staring at Marius with wonder. _"Does he really think so highly of me?"_ I smiled and listened as the Amis nodded and proceeded to call of names at a lower volume, and at a slower pace, as to properly gauge my reactions.

"Jessica." No movement.

"Victoria." My paws shift slightly.

"Madeleine." My tails swishes lightly behind me as my head quirks to the side.

"Catherine." My tail stops moving, _"With a name like Catherine they could easily call me 'Cat' for short. That is quite redundant." _

"Cécile." My tail begins moving again.

"Patria." I stiffen and look over to Enjolras who hesitantly calls out the name. I stand up and pad over to where Enjolras stands and rub up against him, purring in approval at his choice. The students quiet down for a moment, then begin testing the name on their tongue.

"Patria..."

"Patria."

"Patria!"

"It is quite fitting don't you think?" Enjolras asks whilst holding me in his arms, "Patria means home land, or mother land. This beautiful cat is our mascot, is it not appropriate that Patria should be her name? For Patria is what we fight for. _Vive le République_!" The Amis quickly agree with their leader, and start chanting 'Patria' and _'Vive le République!'_. I purr happily at the sight, and contemplate what they-we-stand for.

"_Yes, we are right to stand up for this. I can smell it on the wind, I can taste it in the air, I can see it in their faces. A war is coming, and not just any war, but a revolution that will change the lives of all of those whom reside in Paris, and beyond."_

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><p><em><strong>AN: Hey! I hope you enjoyed this first chapter! Please critique and review, it helps me improve. Also, can someone be my Beta reader? I'm not sure how to go about getting one so could one of you lovely readers volunteer? Pretty please? *Bambi eyes* Since it's summer I will hopefully be updating once a week. =)**  
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